Shut Me Up
by Jaztaz
Summary: Takes place after WL&K. Cindy yells at Jimmy and Jimmy finds a new way to shut her up. Plotless and fluffy.


Disclaimer: All characters and titles refering and/or relating to Jimmy Neutron does not, has not, and will not ever belong to me. But not by a lack of trying.

"I don't understand it Goddard," ten-year-old Jimmy Neutron, resident boy genius, consoled to his faithful robotic companion as he walked alone in the park. The skies above spread from horizon to horizon with dark clouds, promising rain and possibly thunder. The trees around him rustled lightly in the cold breeze that drifted through the park. Sheen and Carl were supposed to meet him here twenty minutes ago, but had instead left him alone with his thoughts and had never shown up.   
  
Goddard perked up his head slightly, a silent gesture that he was listening. His white eyes stared at Jimmy with interest as he sat down on the park bench and looked up at the heavens as though trying to find an answer there. Though he was just a machine, Goddard knew what question was plaguing the young genius's mind; it was the question that had long since troubled him. A question that would send his mind into turbulence and leave it there for some time. A bit like the person the question focused on.  
  
Jimmy leaned back and looked at his dog. "She keeps saying it doesn't matter, but this afternoon we almost...and..." He sighed and shook his head, almost in pity of himself. His brilliant blue eyes were now reflecting the dark clouds overhead, their depths full of a brooding wondering.  
  
"I miss back the good ol' days. Back when it was sociably acceptable to think girls had cooties," Jimmy finally said, totally exasperated. He was being foolish and he knew it. Instead of making progress on the scientific frontier, what was he doing? Sitting on a park bench, with his dog, wasting his highly advanced mind on a girl. A girl who hated him.  
  
Dear God, he hated hormones.  
  
Jimmy stood again and began walking, kicking a small loose pebble with his sneaker. He watched it with interest as it scurried along the cobblestone path before finally settling a few feet away.  
  
He shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be spending day after day; night after sleepless night, on a girl who had made it clear that she didn't have any interest in him. Other then making his life a nightmare, of course.  
  
But the thing is, she hadn't made it clear. Ever since the blonde had walked into his life it had been nothing but mixed signals and codes that even Jimmy couldn't translate. The first time he'd looked into those green orbs any sort of rationality had flown out of his head and went whirling away into a vast oblivion. All Jimmy had to do was look across the street and see her house and his stomach would flip, though he'd stubbornly told himself he was just getting sick at the thought of her.  
  
"I'm a genius! Why can't I figure this out?" he cried to the metal dog trailing behind him as they passed a park bench where three people, faces and bodies buried behind newspapers, sat in silence. Goddard was not paying attention, but instead, listening intently to something behind a tree a few feet away. Jimmy looked at him, and then at the tree with a confused expression before tiptoeing over the old oak, interest edged into his young face.  
  
"And then, what's worse, he was going to reply to the stupid e-mail!" Jimmy heard a familiar female voice growl to what he thought was no one until a deep bark replied.  
  
"I don't understand it, Humphrey," the voice sighed. "I really thought he liked me. We almost kissed for goodness sakes! Maybe I'm just mixed up. Maybe he isn't trying to lead me on at all. Maybe I'm just the stupid girl across the street to him."  
  
"Or maybe I'm just stupider then I give myself credit," Jimmy accidentally said out loud.  
  
"NEUTRON?!"  
  
"Uh-oh..."  
  
Cindy Vortex scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, walking to the other side of the tree where Jimmy was standing, a guilty smile on his face that would have melted her heart if she hadn't been so angry with him. Cindy's eyes were practically sparking electricity now.  
  
"Cindy, don't get mad..." Jimmy tried, trailing off at the cold look on her face. Trying to mollify her would prove futile, no matter what he said. If anything, that's what those years with Cindy had taught him. The moment sparks flew from her eyes like they did now you did not want to get in her path. Unfortunately, Jimmy was usually not only in her path, but he was usually the one causing those sparks to fly.  
  
Cindy marched up to Jimmy, hands place firmly on her hips. She brought her face close to his, shock, embarrassment, and fury lining her features. A combination that even Goddard and Humphrey knew was not safe as they scampered off behind the tree.  
  
"Don't get mad?! You eavesdrop on me and you expect me not to get mad?! Neutron, you are the foulest creature to ever walk the planet! Why don't you go back to 'trust sealing' with your girlfriend and leave me alone?!" She yelled, her voice growing louder with every word.  
  
Despite years of arguing with her, Jimmy felt his blood boil at her words. Ever since they had gotten back from space, all Cindy could do was accuse him and April of dating, or wanting to date, and it was beginning to take it's toll on Jimmy's nerves. For someone who claimed not to care, she sure was acting like she did.  
  
"She's not my girlfriend for the last time!"  
  
Cindy rolled her eyes and backed off, face twisted in disgust. "Fine, whatever. Not like I really care."  
  
"For the love of Albert Einstein..." Jimmy groaned, rolling his own blue eyes to the brooding sky, feeling Cindy gaze piercing him. He looked at her and his eyes locked with Cindy's, a rare occasion that had happened only a few times. And just like those times, Jimmy felt himself falling into the vast emerald abyss that was Cindy's eyes.  
  
He shook his head and grasped to reality like a lifesaver, pulling him out drowning in a sea of green. Spending too long looking into those depths of jade would corrupt any common sense Jimmy had left within himself. And with the way he was going, he couldn't afford to lose anymore.  
  
"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU, NEUTRON!" Cindy hollered angrily, making Jimmy jump slightly at her suddenly loud voice. "YOU ARE THE MOST INSENSITIVE CLOD!"  
  
She was pacing now, yelling at the top of her voice. Her blonde ponytail swished back and forth as she walked around. Her eyes were bursting with a flame of indignity. She came to a stop in front of Jimmy, fists planted firmly on her hips.  
  
"Cindy-"  
  
"YOU JUST GO ON PRETENDING TO BE INNOECENT! WELL I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT! YOU THINK YOU CAN PLAY WITH MY EMOTIONS?! WELL YOU CAN'T!"  
  
"CINDY-"  
  
"DON'T YOU YELL AT ME!"  
  
Jimmy glowered at her furiously as she rambled on, close to hysterics. There was no way to get her to keep her mouth shut. She'd keep going on blindly, spewing out insults and angry glares at him about things that were not even true.  
  
_'Unless_, a voice in the back of his mind spoke, _her mouth was busy doing something else...'_  
  
Something clicked in Jimmy's mind and he felt a grin creep across his face. In a swift movement, leaving no time for Cindy to move away or his mind to reason with him otherwise, he crossed the distance between them and crushed his lips down upon Cindy's. Her yelling stopped abruptly. From behind the tree they were hiding, the jaws of the two dogs dropped to the grass in completely shock.  
  
Something shot through Jimmy's spine that made him feel as though he was suddenly standing taller, making him shiver, the moment his lips touched Cindy's. The world around him dissolved into nothing but a blur, leaving only himself and the blonde girl that was now frozen in shock. Everything was suddenly making sense. All of a sudden, for the first time in his life, he knew right where he belonged. And it was right here.  
  
"Whoa," Jimmy whispered as he pulled away as though speaking too loudly would make the moment shatter into a thousand pieces. He glanced at Cindy. She was standing there with her eyes wide and unmoving, totally shocked. She swallowed hard in complete loss for words.  
  
"What...what was that for?" she asked breathlessly. Jimmy couldn't suppress a smirk any longer at her out of character expression.  
  
He shrugged. "It shut you up."  
  
And with that he turned on his heal and began walking out of the park, his metal dog trailing after him. He buried his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans as the wind ruffled his hair. His lips were still tingling in a pleasing matter that he had never imagined would come from kissing his long-time rival. And what scared him more, he had never felt such a thing with any other girl who had kissed him.  
  
"Hey Jimmy!" Cindy called, making Jimmy look over his shoulder at her. Her face was still slightly shocked but the color that had drained from it was beginning to flush back rapidly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, um, you can shut me up any time then," she stuttered, a sheepish smile gracing her features.  
  
Jimmy considered her with a slightly surprised gaze. She looked rather cute there, her blonde bangs blowing into her eyes, embarrassment replacing the hostility that was usually creasing her face. And, as though it weren't enough, she seemed truly sincere about her offer.  
  
"Really?" Jimmy asked, not bothering to hide the hope in his tones. Cindy grinned and nodded, looking down at her feet.  
  
All of a sudden, something was different. The barrier that they had both painfully tried to keep up to protect themselves from one another over the years had crumbled down brick by brick. Building tension had vanished between them, yet still leaving a trace of something Jimmy could not place in his mind.   
  
"Well, do you want to maybe...walk home with me?"  
  
"Well, I was supposed to meet Libby but...oh, sure, I don't think she'll show up anyway," Cindy replied thoughtfully. With her own dog following behind her, she caught up with Jimmy and walked out of the park with him. And, with a racing heart and sweaty palms, Jimmy took her hand in his own. To his surprise, she didn't pull away.

Together, hand in hand, they walked out of the park.

"That was great!" said the voice belonging to a figure on the bench. The person put their newspaper down and revealed themselves to be Libby herself.  
  
"Yeah, Carl was crying," Sheen's voice chimed in. Following Libby's example, he placed his newspaper on his lap and grinned widely, while beside him Carl hit him on the arm and wiped his eyes. Sheen looked at Libby but said nothing as they both watched Carl blow his nose.  
  
"It was so beautiful!" he wailed, blowing his nose once again as he stood with Libby and Sheen, following them out of the park after their best friends.

The End


End file.
